Implantable medical devices for treating heart arrhythmias with electrical stimuli are well known in the art. Some of the most common forms of such implantable devices are defibrillators and pacemakers. Various types of lead and electrode assemblies for defibrillators and pacemakers have been suggested in the prior art. One type of cardiac lead is the epicardial lead, which is either attached to the outer layer of the heart, the epicardium, or is embedded in myocardium (muscle) after penetrating the epicardium.
For optimal chronic performance of an implantable lead, stable attachment of the electrode to the targeted tissue is required. Currently, attachment of epicardial leads is typically accomplished through the use of sutures, screws, hooks, barbs, and other such devices. These devices present significant attachment challenges. For example, these devices often require a considerable incision to access the heart during implantation. Furthermore, forces generated between the device and tissue are highly dependent on surgical technique, and thus are often not uniform.
There exists a need for improved devices for epicardial attachment of electrical leads. There is a further need for such devices that are compatible with minimally invasive surgical methods.